What Is a Franchisor? What Is the Role of a Franchisor?

Franchising is currently responsible for almost three-quarters of a million jobs in the UK – not to mention generating around £17 billion for the economy every year.

The franchise industry as a whole is constantly on an upwards trend. Not even the coronavirus pandemic has seen franchising suffer in every industry, with many sectors – such as home services – continuing to trade successfully despite the recession.

But who is a franchisor? What is their role in a business?

There’s a lot more than McDonald’s and how they do fast food out there. If you want to know more about the basics of franchisors and franchising, this article has got you covered:

What Is the Role of a Franchisor?

A franchisor is a person or company that grants a license to a third party (known as the franchisee) to open a business under the franchisor’s brand name and trademarks.

The franchisor retains all of the rights to the usually well-known brand name. But they lease the ability to use those rights and trademarks to the franchisee for a fee.

Franchising as a system is designed to expand a business and meet higher levels of demand in more diverse areas. In return, supported by their franchisor, franchisees can often grow their companies far more rapidly than other business types.

The strength of any individual franchise system is completely dependent on the strength of the relationship between franchisor and franchisee. If the relationship is strong, the company will expand, grow, and everyone will prosper.

What Makes a Good Franchisor?

On top of selecting the right kind of franchisees to join their system, a good franchisor will have a whole range of roles to play in ensuring the network as a whole succeeds:

1) Leadership

A good franchisor should set the standard for the company culture your franchise will have. Is the brand friendly and helpful? Supportive?

Being a good leader means your franchisor should encourage you to set up a working environment which is in line with the company’s values.

2) Expertise

One of the many advantages of the franchise system is that a franchisee – who will frequently be a new business owner with little experience of running their own company – can instantly get support and advice when an issue arises.

If you were in business on your own, you would have to guess what to do. As a franchisee, you can call your franchisor and see what they say. After all, they’ve been there and done it all before.

Most good franchisors provide ongoing support from day one. Fantastic Services, for example, is constantly in touch with our franchisees. We provide things like market analysis, technical support and day-to-day guidance in running and growing a business.

3) Branding and Marketing

The strength of the brand you choose to join is important. But so is your franchisor’s ability to market that brand effectively.

Ideally, you want your franchisor to be a marketing expert. You also want them to be willing to do at least some of the marketing on your behalf.

As a franchisee, the need to handle your own marketing distracts you from actually running your business. You also risk doing damage to the brand as a whole if you don’t know how other franchisees in the network are advertising their own businesses.

That’s why franchisors like Fantastic Services prefer to take care of all of the marketing themselves. This frees you to concentrate on your business and keeps all of the marketing done on your behalf strong and cohesive with the entire network.

4) Communication

If you can’t get hold of your franchisor to discuss your problems, what use are they?

The strength of the franchisor-franchisee relationship will define the success of any individual franchise network. When it works well, your franchisor will constantly be in touch to discuss new marketing plans, offer more training, and generally provide ideas and guidance for how to succeed.

A franchisor with good communication skills – who will always be there when you have an issue which is preventing you from getting the best out of your business – is worth the fee many times over.

How Do You Become a Franchisor?

Becoming a franchisor calls for a business which has perfected its own way of operating. Your processes should be leading the industry. Your brand needs to be known far and wide. You need to have the resources to support the franchisees you will bring under your wing.

Because for all the advantages of being a franchisor, the franchisee-franchisor relationship is not a one-way street. Nor is becoming a franchisor an easy way to grow your business.

It calls for a huge amount of time, dedication and investment to begin with. If you do it successfully, that investment may pay off in the long-term.

In the short-term though, a franchisor needs to be a resource which their franchisees can call on. Not only to trade under a successful brand and use proven process, but also as a source of expertise and support to rely on while each franchisee sets up their business.

Are you looking to have a partner there to support you while you grow your business?

Let’s talk. A Fantastic franchise means you get customers found for you and marketing done on your behalf. It also means you have on-call expertise ready to help you succeed at every level.

Get in touch and discuss what becoming a Fantastic franchisee could mean for you today.

Posted in Industry Insights